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E. H. HOLLAND.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I8 3920.

1 42 591 PatentedSept. 12, 1922. A 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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E. H. HOLLAND.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, I920.

MM Sept. 12,1922

Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

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H1. HQLLAQJD; 0F BYRON, GEORGIA...

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Application filedlviarch 18,1920} Serial No. 366,862.

To ,wll wliom it'may, concern:

Be it known that-I, EznKIEL-H. HOLLAND, a citizen of' the United States, residing" at Byron, in. the county of" Houston and State ofGeorgia, have. invented ia certain new and useful Improvement in Refrigerators, of whichthe. following is a fill], clear, and ex;- act: description; reference: being, bad to the accompanying drawings Thiseinvention'. relates. to refrigerator construction, and is illustrated as; embodied in a; vending machine for. bottled goods.

An object. of my invention isthe arrangement of-an article carrier and an ice. receiving tank. within a suitable receptacle, with provision: of a circulatory air passage through the tank and carrier,v with means for deflecting. air currentsover the ice and between the articles to be cooled. A, more specific. object the; provision of an insulated receptacle adapted to have supported therein a plurality of article'carriers, with anice tank, having, an interior air passageway; supported within certain. of, said carriers, and abovexother carriers, and deflecting surfaces carried by the tanl r and. receptacle for causing; currentsv of. air circulating upwardly through the passage to pass over the ice inwthe tanlcinproximitythereto anddown through and; around. the goods within the carrier. t

Features of. the. invention. include, in" addition t'o the-abovernoted. provisions forcirculating; the: cooling; air, the arrangement of the insulation: of portions of the. tank and carriers, and the provision. of aprecooling chamber below the-1 carriers.-

The above and. other features andv objects willi'be'more fully hereinafter explained,.and the essentialscharacteristics of the. invention willbe summarized lIlnllhQClilllTlS;

A preferred embodiment'of my invention is: illustrated in: the accompanying, drawings, in: which Fig. l is front. elevation of my refrigerator apparatus" embodied in a bottle vending machine Fig; 2 is a vertical section through the receptacle with: parts in elevation; Fig. 3 is a verticalisection through the lower. carrier. shown in Fig. 2;, Fig. 4" is a plan? of; the same; Fig; is a horizontal. section throughthe icetanktand one of theupper carrie'rsg; Figs 6 is ahorizontal; section through the actuating; means: for. the carnierse; Fig. 7 is-r a hori'zontah section on the line lZ -Tof-Figt 2 ;3 andFig; 8 is a: detail partially in vertical section showing means for supporting and guiding the carrier gears.

My invention is illustrated in its application to a bottle vending machine somewhat similar to those shown, described and claimed in my applications filed November 22, 1918, and March 12, 1920, Serial Numbers 268,647 and- 365,278,v respectively. It will be understood, howeventhat the inven-' tion is not limited to any particular character of goods or method of dispensing the same, but is adaptable to efiect and maintain efficient and economical refrigeration of goods of general description, arranged within a cooling chamber.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates a receptacle adapted to contain an inner ice tank and one or more carriers for articles, the refrigeration of which is to be effected and maintained. In the vending machine illustratedthe receptacle 10 is provided with superposed rotatable carriersin the interior and with exterior castings 12 arranged in echelon on its walls each having a doorway closed by a door 14:, and coin controlled actuating, means 15, whereby the door may be unlocked and thecarriers .moved to bring the goods contained therein successively into juxta-position with the doorway. The receptacle is shown'mounted on legs 17, which support it at awconvenient height, and by providing. the doors. and operating-mechanism for each: carrier in echelointhe several carriers are all conveniently accessible at one time.

The'receptacle 10 is preferably cylindricalv and hasinner andouter sheet metal walls; 20 and 21 respectively, separated by cork or other heat insulating material 22. The bottom ofthe receptacle is shown consisting of a wooden disk 24 closely fitting within the lowerend of the outer wall 21. Elpaced from the dislt24 by adisk ofsuitable insulation 25 is an interior-disk 26 constituting an inner bottom wall which may be secured to the inner cylindrical wall .2.0 in anysuitable manner; v i

' lVithin the receptacle 10 there is supported an interior: tank 30 adapted to receive ice. The tank 30 is also preferably cylindrical and of a size providing between its outer: wall and the inner wall 200i the receptacle 10, space adapted to receive annular carriers 32, supported by the inner wall of the receptacle. Below the tank there may be supported one or more somewhat similar carriers 33, one only being shown, and between the lower carrier 33 and the bottom 26 of the receptacle there is provided storage space which may constitute a precooling chamber 35. This precooling chan1- ber 35 is provided with a door 36 adapted to be looked as at 37, and may be used to receive the goods when distributed to the machine, or to receive a surplus after the carriers have been filled. Vhen refilling the carriers in a manner hereinafter described, precooled goods from the chamber 35 are preferably used, thus avoiding the vending of uncooled goods immediately thereafter from the car riers.

Between the inner and outer walls of the receptacle vertical supporting strips 40, pref erably of metal, are provided. In the form shown, studs 4L1 are secured to these strips l0; they may be screwed through them and retained by nuts 42. Suitable rollers 44: are shown as mounted on the ends of the studs projecting into the receptacle, and constitute anti-friction supports for the carriers 32 and 33.

The carriers shown are each provided at the bottom with means whereby they may be rotated, comprising gears L6 having spurteeth at adapted to mesh with pinions L8. The pinion comprises a part of the operating means 15 for each carrier. As shown in Fig. 8 the under surface of each gear is provided with an annular shoulder 49 near its periphery. The rollers l have flanges engaging the shoulder 49, thereby providing guiding and centering means for the gears and carriers secured thereto.

The upper carriers 32 comprise top and bottom annuli 50, supporting between them. annular series of outwardly-facing semicylindrical compartments 52, having verti cal walls 53, each being adapted to contain a bottle B. The carriers 32 are preferably mounted surrounding the ice tank and are adapted to be rotated'around the tank 30 to bring fresh bottles, contained in the compartments 52, to their respective doorways 14L. The carrier 33 supported below the tank 30 comprises top and bottom disks 54:, supporting between their outer periphery an annular series of compartments 52, similar to those on the carriers 32. The disks 54L- are provided with registering central openings occupied by a sleeve or tube 56, as shown in Fig. 3. The surface of the tube 56 and of the disks 54: within the ring of compartments 52 is preferably insulated as at 57.

While I have shown the carriers as rotate ble, it will be understood that they might be stationary, as far as the refrigeration is concerned, or simply shelves might be substituted for them.

Around the top of the receptacle 10, se-

cured to the inner wall 20, as by screws 61, I provide a ring62, whereby a top for the receptacle may be securely held tightly in place. The top comprises a member 64L, having a central opening 65 therein, preferably rectangular, to provide means of access to the ice tank 30. The member ca may be se cured to the receptacle as by bent-end bolts 66 passed therethrough engaging the underside of the ring 62, with suitable securing nuts 67 provided on the outwardly projecting ends of the bolts. The projecting ends of the bolts through the nuts may be riveted over, if desired, to prevent removal of the top. The outer periphery of the member G l is preferably octagonal for purposes of ornamentation and may be provided with a downward flange 63. Secured to the undersurface of the member 6st is aplate member 76, preferably of wood, spaced therefrom as by insulation 77, with its outer periphery closely fitting theinterior of the wall 20 of the receptacle, and its inner peripherycomprising a rectangular opening in registry with the opening 65 in the top member 64.

The top 64 may be providedin its central portion over the ice tank 30 with removable covers for the convenient supplying of to the tank. I have shown the recta opening 65 in the top 64%, provioed with an upstanding wall or rim 63., to which may be hinged as at 69 a flanged cover 701 Vithin the wall 68 and supported as on an inwardly extending flange or rim 72 is an auxiliary tight-fitting cover'74; to aid in preserving the refrigeration. The cover and top 64 are preferably of wood covered with'lsheetmetal as at 75.

The ice tank 30 may be supportedwithin the receptacle by a metal strap 80 bent into U-shape and extending beneath the bottom of the tank30 with its ends'secured as at 81 to theunder surface of the member 76 of the top. The top of the tank is open and is provided with an outward flange 35 cvtending nearly to the inner wall 20 of the receptacle. This flange. extent s over the'carriers 39, and for a purpose hereinafter explained, may be perforated at various points if desired. The central portion of the tank rovided with an open'ended vertical tube 8 extending from top to bottom, thusproviding a central opening through the tank. The walls of the tube are preferably double and spaced apart by insulation 88. Above the tube 87 and spaced slightly therefrom.-T provide a baffle plate 90 which. may be secured to the auxiliary cover 74.

The bottom of the ice tank 30 may be provided with a draining opening normally closed by a plug 92, and a plug 93 may be employed for closing the drain pipe 94: in the bottom ofthe receptacle.

The use and operat1on of the deviceshowu may be described as follows :-To fill the carriers 32 and 33', the doors 145 may be unlocked by suitable means and the carriers supplied with fil led containers B, preferably taken from the precooling chamber 35; Ice is supplied to the tank 30 through the openingsclosed by-covers and 74:. By reason of the-flange on the ice tank 30, and the top 64 being secured to the receptacle in a manner to prevent removal, the only means of access to the carriers in the machine shown is through the doors 114, which a purchaser may unlock by insertionrof a proper coin and operation of the mechanism 15.

By reason of the passageway provided by means ofthe tube 87 in the ice tank 30 and the tube 56 in the-carrier 38'below thetank, a current of relatively warm air may ascend continually through the center of the ice tank and be deflected by the baffle plate 90 over the open top of the tank 30 in close engagement with the ice contained therein, and thenv pass over the edge of the flange 85 or, if the latter-is perforated, partly through the flange, downwardly around and between the bottles in the carriers 32 and 33, near the edge walls of the receptacle, thus distributing the area over which it passes. The insulation of the lower carrier checks radiation' and prevents the too rapid descent of the cold air and tends to cause it'to remain longer and circulate more thoroughly around and between the bottles, thus causing their heat to be efficiently absorbed and a high degreeof refri eration to be obtained. A continual circu ation of the air upwardly through the center of the carriers and ice tank and downwardly through the outer peripheries of the carriers into the precooling chamber, thus effects a rapid and effective refrigeration of the goods contained in the carriers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an article support and an ice tank within the receptacle and located one over the other, a tubular vertical passageway through the ice tank, and an opening through the support in substantial registration with said passageway but terminating at a point spaced from said passageway.

2. In a refrigerator, a receptacle having insulated top and bottom and side walls, an ice tank mounted near the top of the re ceptacle, said tank having a vertical air passage therethrough, an article carrier mounted in the receptacle on the outer side of the tank, an insulated carrier mounted in the receptacle below the tank, said last named carrier having an opening in substantial registration with the opening in the tank.

8. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an article support, an ice tank of less diameter than the receptacle, open at the top, hav ing its side walls terminating short of the &

top of the receptacle, and a vertical air passage through the ice tank, and means whereby air may circulate upwardly through the interior of the tank and support and then downwardly around the pe ripheries thereof.

4:. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ar ticle support, an: ice tank therein having its side walls spaced from the walls of the receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle, a vertical tubular member extending through said ice tank, and means whereby air may circulate upwardly through said tubular member and then downwardly over the sides of the tank and around the article support.

5. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, a carrier supported therein, an ice tank of less diameter than the receptacle, said tankhaving the side walls thereof terminating short ofthe top of the receptacle, and having a vertical air passage therethrough, a member extending outwardly from the top of said tank and over the carrier but spaced from the side walls of the receptacle, and

means whereby air may circulate upwardly through the vertical passage and thence across the ice tank over the top of'the member and then downwardly around the articles in said carrier.

6. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an an t'icle support and an'ice tank within the receptacle, said tank being of less diameter than the receptacle and terminating short of the top of the receptacle, a vertical passageway through the ice tank, an opening through the support in registration with the passageway, and means whereby air may circulate through the registering passageways, thence across the ice tank and downwardly around the sides thereof and over the articles in said support.

7. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank centrally supported in the upper portion thereof, a carrier surrounding the tank, another carrier-positioned below the tank, a central tubular passageway extending through the tank and carried therebelow, and means whereby air may circulate upwardly through said registering passageways, and thence across the top of the tank, and then downwardly around the articles in said carriers.

8. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, a plurality of article carriers, an ice tank sup ported within the receptacle embraced by said carriers, said tank having a central ver tical air passage, and means whereby air may circulate upwardly through the interior of the tank and carriers, and then downwardly around the articles in said carrier.

9. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank supported in the upper portion thereof, a carrier supported by the receptacle and surrounding the tank, a second carrier supported by the receptacle below the tank, a precooling chamber below the second carrier, and means whereby air may circulate upwardly through the interior of the tank and carriers and downwardly around their peripheries to the precooling chamber.

10. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an article support and an ice tank positioned one over the other within the receptacle, and substantially alined tubular vertical passageways through the ice tank and support, the walls of said passageway being insulated.

11. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an article carrier and an ice tank within the receptacle, the carrier embracing the tank, an insulated vertical passageway through the tank, and a bafile plate above the passageway.

12. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank supported therein, an article carrier supported below the tank, said carrier comprising an annular series of vertical compartment walls supported between top and bottom disks, an upwardly extending passageway through the disks, and insulation carried on the surface of the disks and the wall of th passageway.

13. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank suspended therein, a plurality of carriers supported from the inner wall of the receptacle, one of said carriers being below the tank and comprising spaced, insulated disks having article receiving coinpartments between their peripheries, and an upper carrier comprising annular members surrounding the tank, and having a plurality of article compartments between them.

let. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, a top therefor, adapted to be secured to the receptacle, means depending from said top for supporting an ice tank, an ice tank therein, and a removable cover within an opening in the top for providing access to the tank.

15. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank suspended from the top thereof, said tank having an open top and an outwardly extending flange, a passageway extending upwardly through the tank, and a baffle plate supported in the top of the receptacle above said passageway. I

16. In a refrigerator, a receptacle, an ice tank supported in the upper portion thereof, a plurality of carriers supported by the receptacle below the top of the tank, an interior air passageway extending upwardly through the tank and carriers, a precooling chamber below the tank and carriers, and means whereby air may circulate between the top of the tank and the precooling chamber through the interior and around the exterior of the tank and carriers.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

EZEKIEL H. HOLLAND. 

